Saturday, September 14, 2013

The New York Yankees suffered their
second straight loss to the Boston Red Sox on Saturday afternoon. The
loss moves the Yankees to (79-70) on the season, and they now sit 2.5
games behind the Tampa Bay Rays for the final Wild Card spot, as the
series in Boston is hurting the Yankees badly.

Once again for the Yankees on Saturday
was another poor start from C.C. Sabathia which has become something
all to common for them this year, as Sabathia got his 13th
loss of the season, a career-high for Sabathia. After breezing thru
the first inning, Sabathia would struggle after that, as in the
second inning the Red Sox got on the board with a RBI ground out from
Will Middlebrooks. In the third inning the Red Sox would get two more
runs across started with a RBI double from David Ortiz, and then
later in the inning a RBI base-hit from Johnny Gomes. In the fourth
inning it was a two-out single that hurt Sabathia, as Shane Victorino
knocked in David Ross. The fifth inning would end up being the last
time the Red Sox would score in the game, as Daniel Nava hit a
sac-fly to score Mike Napoli making it a 5-1 game. Sabathia would
finish going six innings allowing five runs on nine hits and four
walks.

Friday, September 13, 2013

The Giants will look to bounce back
after a disappointing season opener in Dallas against the Cowboys. Five turnovers
will usually do a team in but with the game winding down to the final minutes
the Giants were in position to steal a victory in Dallas. But a sixth turnover,
and third Eli Manning interception of the game, proved to be too much as the
Giants fell 36-31 to start the season 0-1.

The Giants were also done in by the
fumbling of David Wilson, which for the second consecutive opening week of the
season resulted in him being benched against the Cowboys. This resulted in the Giants
running game being non-existent and the entire offensive load being put on the
shoulders of Manning.

The Giants as a whole showed a lot of
heart as they never gave up despite the poor play and unfortunate turn of
events but it still resulted in a loss. They will look to bounce back against a
very difficult Broncos squad that looked in midseason form on offense in their
first game of the season against the defending champion Baltimore Ravens. Here
are some things to keep an eye on this week in Manning Bowl III.

Everyone's favorite radio hosts Kenny (@teapester725) and Nick (@ziggy26x) make their triumphant return to the Bob Sullivan Show (@BobSulllivanShow) after a two month hiatus. The last show they hosted was during the MLB All-Star Break and they are finally back for football season. The Best Looking Radio show is back with their new segment for the NFL season dubbed "Pick 6". There will be five randomly selected games that Kenny and Nick will choose the winner based off of the spreads they get off of www.covers.com; each game picked correctly will be worth one point. The last game will be a special underdogs special that will be worth double, even triple points. Kenny and Nick will receive two points for picking an underdog correctly and if that underdog goes on to win the game they will receive three points. The posts the remainder of the weeks we will also be keeping track of the points and previous weeks picks as a friendly wager will be put together between the co-hosts. Follow the link below to hear the first picks of the season from Kenny and Nick.

The New York Yankees were able to take
the four-game series on the road in Baltimore against the Orioles,
which is huge for the Yankees, as they are closing in on the Tampa
Bay Rays for the second Wild Card spot. The win moves the Yankees to
(79-68) on the season, and now sit just one game behind the Rays.

Orioles Starter Wei-Yin Chen had a
rough night in a big game, as the Yankees offense had no problem
hitting the lefty. In the second inning Mark Reynolds got the Yankees
on the board with a two-run home run, which was his 19th
of the season. In the third inning with the bases loaded Vernon Wells
came thru with a two-run single that scored Alex Rodriguez and
Alfonso Soriano, which made it a 4-0 Yankees lead at the time. The
final Yankees run off Chen would come from the bat of Curtis
Granderson, who smacked a solo-home run off of him, which was
Granderson's sixth of the season. Chen finished going 6.1 innings
allowing five runs on seven hits, and two walks, but Chen however did
strikeout nine batters.

Wednesday, September 11, 2013

The New York Jets will be heading up to
New England for a Thursday night game against the Patriots, who like
the Jets had a close last second win in Week 1, as New England was
able to defeat the Buffalo Bills on a Field Goal by Stephen
Gostkowski.

- Geno's Encore

Geno Smith had a pretty good NFL debut
earning his first victory as a NFL Quarterback on Sunday against the
Buccaneers, and on Thursday night he will be getting his first taste
of the big rivalry between the Jets and Patriots. In Week 1 Geno
threw for 256 yards on 24 for 38 passing, with a touchdown pass, as
it was clear that the Jets didn’t mind letting Geno lose in Week 1
showing confidence in their rookie QB. Geno did however have two
turnovers in the game, as he fumbled and threw an interception, which
is something he will have to continue to work on. Maybe most
impressively about Week 1 for Smith was his ability to run the
football, as he extended a few drives on good runs, and finished with
47 rushing yards on six carries.

The New York Yankees were able to
bounce back from a loss on Monday against the Baltimore Orioles with
a come from behind win on Tuesday night. The win moves the Yankees to
(77-68) on the season, which is two games behind the Tampa Bay Rays
for the final Wild Card spot.

Miguel Gonzalez got the start for the
Orioles in Game 2 of the four-game series, and although despite
pitching much better than his previous start against the Yankees he
didn’t factor in the decision of this game. Alex Rodriguez got to
Gonzalez first breaking a scoreless game up in the third inning with
a RBI double that scored Chris Stewart. In the sixth inning the
Yankees would show off their power, as Alfonso Soriano hit a
solo-home run, which was his 14th home run since joining
the Yankees. Mark Reynolds would follow in Soriano's footsteps a few
batters later with a solo-home run of his own, which was his 18th
of the year. Gonzalez finished going six innings allowing three runs
on six hits, while striking out six batters, and leaving the game in
position to earn the win.

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

By Ryan McDonald (@RonnieMac90)The New York Jets defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 18-17 on Sunday. Nick Folk kicked a game winning 48 yard field goal after the Jets capitalized on Lavonte David's personal foul penalty. As Geno Smith ran out of bounds, David unneccessarily pushed him, drawing a 15 yard penalty which put the Jets in field goal range with 7 seconds left.-Positives: The Jets defense picked up where they left off last season, stiffling the Bucs offense. They held Doug Martin to 24 rushes for 65 yards. Josh Freeman completed less than 50% of his passes for 210 yards. This is the type of defensive performance the Jets would like to see every game but it's worth noting that the Bucs offense didn't look stellar to begin with.Geno Smith started and won his first NFL game. Smith went 24-38 with 256 yards and one touchdown and interception. Smith also scrambled 6 times for 47 yards, which made him the Jets leading rusher. Smith wasn't known for his running ability but he proved he could gain some yards if left unattended. Smith did seem to struggle with pressure but what rookie doesn't, with experience he'll hopefully get used to it. It's also worth noting that the Bucs secondary, with Revis, looks to be one of the best in the league.Kellen Winslow recorded 7 catches for 79 yards. Winslow was Geno's favorite target as he was targetted 8 times. Winslow played well, and was able to separate himself from the Bucs linebackers fairly easily. It's a good sign and as long as Winslow stays healthy they'll have a satisfactory receiving tight end.-Negatives:One of the question marks to begin the season was the running game of the Jets. After week 1, those questions remain. Geno Smith, their rookie quarterback, was their leading rusher. Bilal Powell ran the ball 12 times for 29 yards and Chris Ivory had 10 rushes for 15 yards. The Jets could be one of the worst rushing teams in the NFL this season. It certainly doesn't bold well for Rex Ryan's mentality of ground and pound. This will also put additional pressure on rookie quarterback Geno Smith. Santonio Holmes only caught one pass for 13 yards in the entire game. Holmes simply didn't look the same as he used to pre-injury. He was only targetted 3 times, and couldn't lose his defender often. Hopefully Holmes will improve with time.Antonio Cromartie struggled against Vincent Jackson. Jackson had 7 catches for 154 yards and beat Cromartie for big plays on 3rd down especially. It's a glaring concern as Cromartie is now the Jets best cover corner and if he cannot take away the opposition's best receiver, it will be a long season. Cromartie did well last year as the Jets best corner after Darrelle Revis went down. It was hoped he could repeat that performance, but he is off to a shaky start.-Expectations:Geno looked much better than expected giving hope to Jets fans everywhere. However, this isn't the team that dragged Sanchez to two AFC title games. The talent around Geno simply isn't there. Geno doesn't have the weapons around him like Sanchez did in 2009, nor the running attack. If the defense doesn't hold the opposing team to under 20 every game, it's going to be a long season.The Jets play at the New England Patriots on Thursday.

By Nick Ziegler (@Ziggy26x)September 9th, 2013New York Yankees vs. Baltimore OriolesFinal Score: Yankees 2 Orioles 4The New York Yankees were unable to start their important four-game series against the Baltimore Orioles on a good note, as they suffered a 4-2 loss on Monday night. The loss moves the Yankees to (76-68) on the season, which is three games behind the Tampa Bay Rays for the final Wild Card spot.In a big game for both teams, Orioles Starter Chris Tillman came up big with a great start, as he earned his 16th win of the season. Tillman only made two bad pitches in this game, but was otherwise sensational. In the first inning Alex Rodriguez hit a solo-home run off of Tillman to give the Yankees a quick 1-0 lead, and it was the fifth home run of the season for Rodriguez. It wouldn’t be until the eighth inning when Tillman would make another mistake, as Lyle Overbay hit a solo-home run, which was his 14th of the season. Tillman went seven innings allowing just the two runs on four hits, while striking out nine batters.

Monday, September 9, 2013

The New York Yankees were able to avoid
the sweep at home against the Boston Red Sox on Sunday afternoon,
which would’ve been a heart-breaking weekend for the Bronx Bombers.
The win moves the Yankees to (76-67), which is 2.5 games behind the
Tampa Bay Rays for the final Wild Card spot.

Hiroki Kuroda looked like he was back
to his form of about a month ago on Sunday, as he gave the Yankees a
very good start in a game they desperately needed. The Red Sox would
get a couple runs off of Kuroda however though, as in the second
inning Mike Carp hit a double to score David Ortiz for the first run
of the game. In the sixth inning the Red Sox would get their final
run off of Kuroda, as Jarrod Saltalamacchia would hit a sac-fly to
score Ortiz. Kuroda would go six innings allowing just two runs on
five hits and two walks, while striking out six batters, and leaving
the game in line for a win.